Walking Amongst Dreams
by XxHotaru TomoexX
Summary: Naruto has many secrets, she's an enigma, and her new friends at the DWMA want to figure her out. Contains (slightly OP)Weapon!femNaruto and Meister!Sakura. WARNING: Foul language, OOCness, blood/gore, mayhem, and AU details.
1. The Greatest

**I don't own Naruto or Soul Eater.**

 **WARNING: This story contains foul language, violence, the power of friendship, and atrocious attempts at action.**

* * *

 _He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life._

 _-Muhammad Ali_

* * *

Naruto Uzumaki tore through the streets of Death City on her black Iron 883 Harley Davidson (with custom orange and glittery gold flames), the dirt in the air not bothering her as it swept across the single lense of her riding goggles.

She was happy to find it in the garage of her new home when she arrived a day before, finding out that it was perfectly legal for her to ride it at thirteen in Death City as long as she was a student at the DWMA, and all she had to do was flash her student I.D and she was home free.

She'd learned all this after calling her Jiji to scream "thank you!" into his ear for buying it for her, and then demand why he would do such a thing when she couldn't even ride it legally.

(Not that it had ever stopped her from riding dirtbikes in the street back home).

More presently, for once in her life, Naruto was early. (Even though she was homeschooled until she was ten, she'd managed to be late to Jiji's lessons everyday, and when she got into normal school, sometimes she was an entire hour late).

She wanted to get a feel for the school Shinigami-sama built, and she knew if she wanted to do that, she'd have to be early.

"Hey you brat, watch it!" Someone shrieked, diving out of the way as Naruto nearly plowed into them bending a corner on a green light.

The blonde cackled, blonde pigtails trailing behind her like streamers as she ate up the distance between her and her new school.

"Gomenasai!" She tossed behind her.

Of course, she was too excited to be truly sorry.

* * *

They'd met by mistake.

It was Sakura Hannelore's first time as a student in Shibusen's Eat class, having spent her first few months of her first year at the weapon and meister academy in the Not class. She was so excited she was roaming the halls an entire hour early before class was in session.

The pink haired teen had finally passed the physical test to enter the Eat class, even if only by the skin of her teeth.

Sakura Hannelore strode down one of the long, seemingly never ending buttercream halls of her school, a bit of skip in her step as she'd just left Shinigami-sama's Death Room, the god having informed her that she would be transferred into the Eat class on the best day. The day the Eat class would start learning about Soul Resonance. As a meister in Death City, the skill to resonate was vital, so naturally Sakura was a little anxious.

Meister.

Sakura's excited stride faltered. She stood in the deserted hall, mood deflating and expression crumbling, her green eyes misting over slightly.

What kind of meister was she really? She didn't even have a weapon partner yet, and she'd been at the DWMA for three months.

Nobody wanted her, and really, could she blame them? She was so weak. She wasn't as fast, strong, or tenacious as normal Eat meisters. The only thing she really had going for her was her brains, and that was only bookwise. She wasn't sure how she'd react in a real combat situation with life threatening factors.

Sakura was almost positive she'd freeze up in panic. She was positive her books wouldn't do her any good when she had to think on her toes. Not to mention her... temper. She'd admit, it could be a little explosive, but that was usually how she covered up embarrassment or being hurt in some way. Because no one wanted her around, no one knew that there was so much more to her, that really, all she wanted was to connect.

If Sakura could have one real friend, she knew she could get stronger, because she'd want to be able to walk beside the person that accepted her. Too bad no one was willing to accept her.

"I… I suck." She murmured, green eyes burning, filling with liquid.

But really, why was she saying that like she didn't already know it? Even the Not students were better than her. They even gave her a classroom moniker.

Suckra.

Because she was monumentally lame.

Sakura scrubbed her arm across her eyes, trying to compose herself, reminding herself that she didn't have her parents move with her from Germany to the middle of the Nevada Desert to Death City so that she could twiddle her thumbs or cry. Her father had been a great meister with his girlfriend turned wife as his anti-kishin weapon, cutting down foes with her clawed gauntlet form and beating them back with his mastery of several martial arts forms.

With her mother finally being turned a Death Scythe, they had decided to retire from the life as Kishin Hunters, and Lord Death approved, assuring them that he had plenty Death Scythes to help out when he got word of their engagement as well as their baby on the way. It had been thirteen years ago when they moved back to Germany to raise Sakura in a normal life, only to find out that their daughter was meister material and was determined to put such potential to use.

Moving to Death City hadn't hurt Sakura, she didn't have any friends back home because her bookish nature put people off. There was no language barrier because her mother made sure she could speak German as well as English fluently.

Her father taught her to wrestle, as well as a bit of Taekwondo. She was good at both. But Sakura learned that "good" at Shibusen wasn't enough. She was stronger than the average thirteen year old girl, could kick an average girl's ass, but as a meister she was entirely mediocre. The kids… even some in the Not class, were entirely more vicious in combat. She was too cookie cutter and by the books, so she was severely lacking in many ways.

She had hoped that finally meeting the requirements to transfer into the Eat class would give her the boost in confidence to become better, to finally get a weapon partner, but with how she was feeling, she wasn't confident that anyone would want to deal with her.

Hell, she was a loser among losers, so why would the winners in the Eat class want to be bothered with her?

Ugh.

She was thinking in circles. Dangerous. depressing. circles.

Lord Death had transferred her into the Eat class on one condition.

Sakura Adea Hannelore, was to find a weapon partner in the next week or she would have to return to the Not class.

And how humiliating would that be? Finally getting out, only to be demoted back. She'd be an even bigger laughingstock, however impossible that seemed.

Even so, her time in the Not class wasn't all being bullied or ignored. She had learned to combine her wrestling and Taekwondo techniques in sparring matches, and even with such a small soul, Sakura learned that she had the ability to force her wavelength into her fists for short amounts of time, allowing her to punch holes through walls and cause general destruction with her bare hands.

She'd kept this talent to herself, wanting to have a trump card if she ever needed it.

Unfortunately, even with her trump card, Sakura couldn't muster up the courage to be hopeful. She'd been excited about transferring at first, but now that her happy accomplished high was fading, she could see the grim future she likely had.

What the hell was she doing?

"I… I can't do it."

She wouldn't be able to face the humiliation of failing as an Eat student. She wouldn't be able to face her parents after telling them that she failed as a meister, that she would never get a weapon. She just… she just couldn't.

Sakura whirled around, and made to run.

She took three steps and slammed into someone.

The pinkette cried out, stumbling back, nearly falling on her bottom before someone grabbed the front of her dress and hauled her foreward.

"Kami!" A voice exclaimed. "Gomen ne, watashi wa-um... I mean, I was moving way too fast."

The pinkette opened her eyes, having instinctively squeezed them shut, surprised by the Japanese the stranger spoke. She didn't know much of the language, just little things, enough to notice that the person had apologized for running into her.

Sakura stared at the one who she'd bumped into, surprised to find a short girl before her, big sapphire eyes staring into her own in worry.

The stranger had spiky sunshine blonde hair that fell to the back of her thighs, parted in low pigtails, her bangs falling past her jaw framing her face, as well as tufts tickling across her brows. Her skin was a healthy rosy tan. The blonde wore a bright orange and dark blue track jacket with a high white collar, dark blue joggers, and white birkenstock sandals. Her hands were clothed by white padded leather fingerless gloves, and she wore a pair of white goggles on her forehead with an orange tinted lense.

"Hey, are you okay?" The stranger asked, shocking Sakura out of her observations with her soft feminine rasp. It was a different voice, but not unpleasant.

"Oh!" Sakura flushed, noticing the girl's fair brows were climbing higher and higher in question with each moment Sakura allowed to pass awkwardly. "Oh, I'm sorry, I just… sorry. Yes. I'm fine. H-how are you?"

Sakura wanted to smack herself at how stupid she'd sounded.

 _'The day's just getting better and better isn't it?'_ Her inner cynic grumbled.

The stranger grinned at the pinkette's stammering, showing off straight white teeth and prominent canines.

"You're awfully pretty Bubblegum-chan." She chirped, folding her gloved hands behind her back before cocking her head to the side curiously. "Where are you off to so fast dattebayo?"

Sakura's flush burned, and she bristled.

"B-bubblegum!?" She huffed. "That's about one of the rudest things I've ever heard!"

"Oh?" The shorty hummed, grin turning into an amused turn of her lips. "Gomen gomen. What's your name then pretty girl?"

Sakura tried to stammer out a response.

 _'She's so rude, but I can't be that mad because she's called me pretty twice now. What's her deal?'_

"You're not hitting on me are you?" Sakura blurted, mortification staining across her cheeks even brighter.

Blue eyes blinked long lashes rapidly, a stupefied expression wiping away a charming (yet irritating smile).

"NANI!?"

Sakura winced at the echoing shriek.

"No way!" The blonde crossed her arms in an X formation. "Totally not into chicks, or dudes, or anyone really. I'm only thirteen, sorry."

"W-WHAT!?" Sakura sputtered. "I would not- why would you even say-"

"Hey," The blonde suddenly sobered, utterly oblivious to Sakura's distress. "My name's Naruto. I just wanna know if we can be friends? What's your name?"

Sakura choked off whatever she'd been trying to convey.

 _'This girl is completely random!'_ She thought.

The newly dubbed Naruto grinned at Sakura, and held out her hand in invitation.

And yes, even though Sakura had no form of soul perception, she had a feeling the blonde was entirely earnest.

 _'How could that be though?'_ Sakura wondered. _'We've barely even met, and she… she seriously wants to be my friend.'_

But…

When she knew, she wouldn't.

When Naruto found out how awful Sakura actually was, she wouldn't want to be friends. She'd toss her aside, start bullying or ignoring her. It… it would be so disappointing.

Naruto seemed to notice the pinkette's hesitation, and her wide grin calmed, instead curving into a sweet, quiet smile.

Sakura nearly recoiled.

Like this, the slightly obnoxious character Naruto had been showing opened up into an accepting and thoughtful person.

Without waiting, Naruto took a step forward, taking one of Sakura's hands in hers, clasping it firmly, yet not rudely.

Sakura's breath hitched when she felt a small spark within her chest as the blonde shook her hand.

 _'What…? What was that!'_

"Naruto." She said again, still wearing her gentle expression, pulling the pinkette away from her startled thoughts. "Uzumaki Naruto."

"S-Sakura… Sakura Hannelore."

Naruto's eyes widened in delight, cocking her head to the side as she released Sakura's hand.

"You've got a Japanese name. What's the other one?" She asked curiously.

The pinkette was used to such inquiries, well, before people dropped her like bad tuna when they figured out how strong she wasn't and how too smart she was.

"My mother and father are German, but they went on a mission once to Japan, and remembered seeing cherry blossoms in full bloom. They decided to name me after them, hoping I would be as beautiful, if not more someday."

And how disappointed were they to find out their kid would grow into a too skinny, flat chested, and bad tempered bookworm with a huge forehead? Well, Sakura knew her parents loved her, but still.

"Eh?" Naruto grinned before shaking her head. "That's really cool dattebayo. Cherry blossoms really are pretty, but I think you're prettier Sakura-chan."

The pinkette felt her face burn for the umpteenth time since the few minutes she'd known Naruto.

"W-well thank you." Sakura stuttered. "B-but why do you keep saying that?"

"Sayin' what?" Naruto asked, blue eyes getting even bigger in question.

The meister shifted uncomfortably.

"You know… saying I'm pretty and stuff."

"Well why wouldn't I?" Naruto wondered. "You are pretty."

"I… it's just… people don't usually put so much emphasis on such things…" Sakura stammered.

"Hm?" Naruto blinked. "That's weird. But whatever, you are pretty, so I just wanted to tell you for some reason. I won't say it so much if you don't like it though."

Sakura was flabbergasted by the absolute innocence the girl gave off.

She was just… so freaking sweet.

 _'Why would she want to be my friend?'_

A darker part of herself wondered if it was all an elaborate hoax to get her hopes up before crushing her heart. But really, who would go so much out of their way just to hurt Sakura's feelings? Not even school bullies gave enough of a crap to do such a thing.

"It's not that I don't like it, it's just unusual." Sakura finally answered, realizing she'd been staring for quite a long time.

"Well alright then." Naruto chuckled, before somehow perking up even more. "Hey, Sakura-chan, are you a meister?"

Green eyes widened.

"Yes, I am." She answered, honestly doing so before she even thought about it. "Why?"

"Hehe," Naruto scratched bashfully at the back of her unruly head. "You don't have a weapon partner yet, do you?"

Sakura bristled, offense flaring in her chest.

"Now why would you even as-"

"No?" Naruto cut off, immediately reading the mood. "Then… do you… do you want a weapon partner?"

Almost instantaneously, Sakura's anger was doused by surprise, and a tiny spark of hope she refused to acknowledge.

"Why…?" She drawled instead, suspicious.

Naruto dropped the hand that had began rubbing at the back of her head after scratching.

"It's… it's just… I'm a weapon that transferred here from Japan yesterday, and I've had everything set up, even my home for a while. Everything was settled before I even got here. I just… I don't have a meister."

Sakura's mouth nearly dropped open.

Here she'd been, angsting about her future, and then she literally ran into her solution. It was… it was almost too good to be true.

"Are you… are you sure?" The pinkette whispered, looking down at her boots. "I… I mean… I've been a student here for three months, Naruto. There's a reason I've been here for that long and still don't have a weapon. Most people find their partners within the first month."

Sakura looked up, wrapping her arms around herself, hands digging into the velvet of her dress.

She felt so stupid.

"Oh, hey…" Naruto murmured tenderly, reaching out and once more grabbing Sakura's hand, squeezing it in her own in comfort that was startlingly effective. "Don't cry Sakura-chan. Please don't cry. Of course I'm sure. I… I don't care what people think, or what they've said… you… your soul is beautiful. And I… I would be honored to have someone like you be my meister."

Sakura sniffled, and then the dam broke, and the liquid welling in her eyes spilled down her cheeks.

"Y… you have soul perception?" Sakura whimpered. "T-that's not very common in weapons…"

She was kind of iffy about the stranger peering into her soul without permission, but Naruto had called it beautiful.

A teacher with the sight had told her once that it was very small, and pink. They hadn't had a very advanced sense of perception, but those details were enough.

Even her soul sucked.

"Yeah, I've got the sight, and hey, it's not common in weapons, but not impossible." Naruto admitted. "I don't have it completely under control, and when we shook hands, I accidentally looked into yours. It's small, but inside of it is so much strength it's amazing. It's bright, and kind, and maybe a little hotheaded, but that's kinda fun, ne?"

Sakura startled out a laugh.

That… that made it sound a lot better than "small" and "pink".

"R-really?"

"Hai." Naruto nodded, squeezing Sakura's hands, the pinkette unsure of when she'd taken them both. "You've got one of the nicest souls I've ever seen. And I… I know it's weird, but I wanna know the person who has such a soul."

Sakura's expression crumbled.

"O-Oh my gosh!" Naruto exclaimed, wrapping Sakura- an almost stranger- into one of the warmest, kindest, most honest hugs the pinkette had ever been given. It was so nice it was almost motherly.

"Don't cry Sakura-chan! I'm sorry. What did I say? I… I'm sorry!"

Sakura suddenly squeezed back, with all her might, trying to convey in that touch how utterly grateful she was.

Sakura giggled.

"You can see souls, but you can't tell these are tears of joy?"

Naruto pulled back enough to show Sakura her surprised expression.

"I… well I told you I can't control it that well!" She yelped, cheeks flushing red.

Sakura snorted.

It was sad, how much she liked this girl, the girl that she hadn't even known for an hour.

It was sad that she was so deprived of kindness from people her age, that she clung so desperately to the first person that smiled at her without malicious teasing.

Yes. Indeed it was sad, but it was also wonderful, because she found someone who was going to accept her, because they'd seen her soul, and they wanted to know her.

Naruto wanted to know Sakura, based on a mere glimpse she'd gotten by mistake.

 _'That must've been what the spark was.'_ Her mind absently supplied. _'Naruto's wavelength reaching out to mine to feel it.'_

But it hadn't been an unpleasant spark. It was like a short epiphany, an almost happy feeling.

Even before Naruto said something, Sakura's soul had found the one that was compatible with her own.

Naruto was her weapon.

Sakura found a weapon and a new friend on the same day.

And it was all an accident.

Well, at least she thought it was.

* * *

Sakura wouldn't know for a while that Naruto had been exploring Shibusen on her first day, and with her unrefined perception, she sensed a distressed soul.

She'd followed the call of the sadness in the soul, only for that upset person to run directly into her.

Naruto did everything she could to cheer up the person with such sadness tainting the brightness that should've been inside them.

The transfer was happy when she saw Sakura smile, and she was even happier to have gotten a friend and meister in her.

 _'Now, that's how her soul should look.'_ Naruto thought, shaking Sakura's hand as they sealed their partnership. _'I know she's strong. And we'll both only get stronger.'_

* * *

They'd attended the first half of their school day in Professor Stein's Eat class, a man who had only started teaching at Shibusen a week prior, his class having been Syd Barrett's before the man was killed and turned into a blue zombie. Now the duo were at lunch.

The new partners sat on the roof of Shibusen, the unique sun of Death City snoozing in the sky, drool trailing out of its mouth.

Naruto had what she told Sakura was called a "bento", or boxed lunch, and oh man could that girl eat.

The duo were finishing up their meals (Naruto a feast, and Sakura a peanut butter and jelly sandwich), when the short blonde sitting beside her perked up.

"Okay, so we're partners, both in the Eat class starting today… so… what happens now? What're the deets?" Naruto asked.

Sakura perked up, going into what her Not peers referred to as, "Know it all Mode".

"So this is how it works." The pinkette began. "Shibusen, the Death Weapon Meister Academy or DWMA is a special school for humans who are born with the power to turn into weapons and the wielders of these weapons. These wielders are called meisters. While the students of the EAT, or Especially Advantaged Talent class train themselves to become warriors of justice, the NOT, Normally Overcome Target class is for those who just want to control their powers with the intent to not become a threat to others and to themselves."

"Well, I know that part." Naruto pointed out.

"I know," Sakura admitted. "I just, I like to say the whole thing."

"Okay, go on then." The blonde said, grinning, wiggling her brows teasingly.

Rolling her eyes, already recognizing that Naruto was a rather goofy character, Sakura did so.

"It isn't formally stated, but many NOT students are unable to be put into the Eat class for various physical limitations." Sakura went on, cheeks staining crimson.

"Nani?" Naruto blinked, confused.

The pinkette didn't know what that word specifically meant, but she could tell the way it was being used went along the lines of "I don't get it".

"Basically, a lot of NOT students are there because they suck too much to be in the EAT class."

"Oh." Naruto said, wincing.

"Yeah…" Sakura mumbled, looking down at her clasped hands, pink brows furrowing slightly. "So, anyways, since we're starting the Eat class, we're going to have to work hard. We're going to have to train together, study, and get to know each other. Weapons and Meisters are very close duos, and they lean on each other quite a bit. Are you… are you ready for that Naruto?"

"Well, I dunno about the studying," The blonde snickered when Sakura shook her head before continuing with, "But yeah. I'm so ready. I wanna be a Death Scythe someday, and even though I don't know you very well yet, I can tell you'll get me there. We're both gonna get stronger, together."

Sakura stared into those honest, determined, blue eyes... and in them, she saw truth.

Someday, they'd be some of the greatest.

* * *

 **Info:**

 **-Adea: Origin, Germany. Meaning, noble.**

 **-Hannelore: Origin, Germany. Meaning, gracious.**

 **(Let's just pretend her name means "Noble and Gracious Cherry Blossom.").**

 **I have no idea if the names I gave her are true to their meaning, because I got them off of google, so please excuse me if they are inaccurate.**

 **-If you need a better visual of Naruto's hair, look up "Maki Maki Plastic Nee-san" on google. She's the girl with the red pigtails that I modeled Naruto's hairstyle as.**

 **If you haven't watched Plastic Nee-san, you definitely should. It's beautiful.**

 **\- Harley Davidson Iron 883= Aggressive throwback styling and a 2017 Model.**


	2. The Good The Bad and Tora

**I don't own Naruto or Soul Eater.**  
 **WARNING: This story contains foul language, violence, the power of friendship, and atrocious attempts at action.**

* * *

 _"A false friend and a shadow attend only while the sun shines."_

 _-Benjamin Franklin_

* * *

It was midnight, the crescent moon above grinning something gruesome against the dark blue background of the sky.

Naruto and Sakura had left on their first mission as Shibusen students to hunt down a kishin egg, or evil human soul at exactly noon on Sunday. It was now Monday, and they had eight hours to capture their enemy, and destroy it before they had to show up to class.

The duo had only been partners for two and a half weeks. Naruto hadn't even met Sakura's parents yet, but still they'd convinced Lord Death, (or Shinigami-ojii as Naruto called him) that they were ready to start hunting evil souls to begin their quest to turn Naruto into a death scythe.

On the first day of their partnership, Naruto and Sakura had simply gotten to know each other a little, things they liked to eat, to do, things like that. On the second day Naruto told Sakura that she was a weapon with multiple forms. Currently five, to be exact. The pink haired meister had been surprised to find that Naruto could potentially unlock nine weapon forms. Naruto was a descendant of a clan of weapons that usually unlocked weapon forms of Japanese origin, the most forms having been unlocked among the clan being nine.

The blonde girl didn't talk much about her clan besides that, only that back in Tokyo, she'd lived with her Grandpa, where she'd mostly been homeschooled, but taught kickboxing and gymnastics.

Sakura had seen all of Naruto's weapon forms so far, but her personal favorite, was Naruto's first.

It was a kanabō.

In this form Naruto was a 5 and a half foot long "bo" with a bat-like shape, small spikes around the perimeter of the bat end, gold in color, with white bandages around the grip and a large gold ring at the end of the "hilt". The face of the bat-like end of the kanabō was black, white kanji reading 第, or "one", as Naruto had explained. It signified the kanabō was Naruto's first form.

"How much longer Naruto?" Sakura grumbled.

The blonde snorted under her breath, hefting her meister higher up on her back as she swiftly hopped from roof to roof.

Naruto had been horrified to find that Sakura was not adept at traveling swiftly through trees or above on the rooftops.

Something the weapon had learned when they tracked their target down to the forest it inhabited, only for it to escape them into the city, resulting in them spending the rest of their Sunday tracking it, all the way up to the point they currently found themselves in.

Naruto had demanded Sakura get on her back so they could find the damn kishin egg and go home to get a tiny bit of sleep before they had to go to school.

They'd spent a good five minutes arguing about that before Naruto simply grabbed Sakura and tossed her over her shoulder. Thoroughly mortified, Sakura had agreed to be carried piggyback style, and that was why the early morning found the meister weapon pair traveling at high speeds atop the apartment buildings in the urban part of Death City.

A disturbance in the tranquil atmosphere gave the weapon of the duo pause, catching her attention.

She shivered slightly at the wave of malevolence radiating from below in a dark alley.

"I sense it." Naruto muttered, skidding to a stop before reaching the edge of a beat up apartment building.

She let Sakura drop down from her back, watching the pink haired girl move to stand at her side, mint green eyes peering into the darkness below.

As usual, Naruto's meister was wearing a sleeveless turtleneck red velvet dress with slits up the sides, a pink belt with a pouch attachment around her waist, spandex green shorts underneath, and a matching knitted green headband keeping her bangs back. Her feet bore knee high black boots with red soles, and her hands elbow length black gloves.

Sakura's hair fell mid back, blowing slightly in the icy breeze.

"What do you wanna do Hime?" Naruto murmured, studying her meister from the corner of her eye.

Sakura sighed.

"You're still going to call me that?"

Naruto snickered behind her gloved hand.

She had insisted on calling Sakura that when she found that the pinkette had the habit of correcting Naruto on proper edicate. She was so stiff about manners sometimes, she reminded Naruto of a princess, or hime.

"Do you like Sakura-sensei better?" Naruto asked, unable to hold back her grin. "'Cause you sure like to correct me alot."

"It's "because" Naruto." The pinkette huffed.

"Exactly my point Sakura-hime. Exactly my point."

"Oh shut up and transform already."

Naruto laughed, turning to face her meister before giving an extravagant bow.

"As you wish, Sakura-sama."

The pinkette rolled her eyes to the point that it brought pain, watching as Naruto's form flared in a golden glow, before it stretched, spinning around in a blurring motion. Sakura reached out and took hold of the hilt that was becoming more and more familiar with every day they trained as partners.

The pinkette slammed the end of the solidifying kanabō into the roof, pleased to find the brick of the rooftop webbing with cracks beneath the force.

"We really are getting stronger, ne, Sakura-hime?" Came Naruto's voice, tinged with an odd metallic echo.

"Yes." Sakura agreed, a smile turning up her lips. "We're getting stronger."

"So what are we waiting for?" Naruto asked. "Let's go."

"Okay!" Sakura agreed, standing up a bit straighter.

The pinkette altered her hold, so that she was holding her weapon with both hands, her left face down and the right face up, the end of the kanabō protruding from her left.

Sakura took a step over the edge of the roof, the moonlight setting her form alight, before she stepped off into the open air.

"It's there!" Naruto yelled. "Right below you!"

As she fell, Sakura glimpsed a flash of red, knowing the twin pits were the kishin egg's eyes.

Hair flaring up away from her face, Sakura brought her weapon around and above her head.

The egg had stopped to rest in an alley with garbage strewn about everywhere, having spent the rest of Sunday up until this point evading them.

 _'I've got you now vermin...'_

" _CHA!_ "

With all her might, Sakura brought her weapon down with concussive force, knowing that she wouldn't have been able to swing such a thing around if it was a normal weapon.

The kishin egg darted to the side in the nick of time, the cobblestone splintering beneath the force of Sakura's blow, spraying stone in massive chunks in all directions.

"Crap, Sakura you missed!" Naruto yelped. "Get it! Before it get's away!"

Sakura gritted her teeth as she straightened from the crouch she'd landed in, wanting to snap at Naruto that she'd noticed she'd missed, because the thing that they had been tracking all day was not gory mush and currently making its way out of the alley on all four of its quick irritating legs.

Blowing a strand of pink out of her eyes irritably, Sakura swung Naruto behind her, so that she could give chase.

It just so happened that the kishin egg that they were chasing was a cat.

A fluffy orange cat with a stupid pink bow tied around one of its ears, glowing yellow eyes, and irritatingly quick little legs.

Tora.

That was the name of the kishin egg Lord Death had permitted them to hunt. He'd promised that if they could put Tora down for good, he would allow Naruto and Sakura to go on missions a little more difficult like the rest of their class, even though they had been partners for a shorter amount of time.

Sakura sprinted after Tora, a little slowed down because she wasn't quite accustomed to carrying Naruto, even though her weapon wasn't physically heavy to her, due to them being partners.

"Screw this!" Sakura shrieked, an angry vein pulsing in the left side of her forehead. "Naruto! Third mode: Tessen!"

"Roger that!"

The kanabō soon lit up in a familiar bright glow, condensing and fanning out into a giant war fan, or tessen.

"If you think I'm gonna chase you until dawn you stupid cat, you've got another thing coming." Sakura gritted, swinging Naruto's new form around, a large fan of orange metal with gold framework and glittery, curling cloud markings across it.

A violent gust of wind exploded from the swing, ripping through the air after the quickly fleeing Tora.

The annoying cat sensed its demise, and made the mistake of turning around, yellow eyes bulging in their sockets before the wind bisected it, ripping it to shreds in a matter of seconds, scraps of flesh flying in all directions, crimson spraying across the cobblestone.

Sakura froze, stomach seizing at the gory display.

Naruto quickly transformed, skittering away from her meister as the girl began vomiting.

As Sakura folded over at the waist, Naruto turned, watching as Tora's scattered remains were dragged across the ground by an invisible force, clumping together before merging, reforming into a black sphere that lit up with scaly red markings, slowly floating up into the air, hovering a few feet off of the ground.

The blonde noted the kishin egg had cat ear-like protrusions on either side of the ghostly red tail sprouting from the top of it.

 _'Oh my gosh we actually did it…'_ The weapon thought, pride swelling in her chest. _'We… we got our first kishin egg…!'_

"Hime look!" Naruto cheered, finding her voice and pointing at the soul. "We did it! We got the Demon Cat Tora!"

Sakura looked up, bags under her eyes as she wiped the foul residue from her bottom lip with her gloved forearm.

Naruto flinched at the glare she was getting.

"Not up for celebrating eh?" The blonde chuckled nervously, rubbing at the back of her head. "Okay, well… I guess I'll just… go and get it?"

The blonde flinched even harder when Sakura's expression somehow darkened.

"R-right, I'm just gonna be over there…"

Naruto shuffled away from her agitated meister, trying not to pout.

 _'What's her problem?'_ She thought. _'I'm the one that had to carry her across the whole city for several hours… all she had to do was swing me in tessen form and that was that. Hmph!'_

The blonde made her way to Tora's soul, head cocking to the side as she drew closer.

Naruto remembered the briefing she and Sakura had gotten from Shinigami-jiji before they'd set out to hunt down Tora. He'd explained that once they killed the kishin egg, Naruto had to eat the soul.

The blonde was honestly really disgusted by the thought of ingesting something so tainted. Something that was literally evil, but then she remembered that the darkness lying dormant inside of her was much worse.

Sakura didn't see Naruto's eyes dim as she reached out, taking hold of Tora's evil soul.

 _'That's right.'_ The blonde thought. _'Do I really even have the right to feel this way when what's inside me is so much worse than a simple kishin egg?'_

Naruto squeezed the orb in her hand, noting that it was odd in texture, scaly as it appeared, but when she squeezed, it felt almost gooey like a gumdrop.

She brought the glowing orb closer to her face, studying it, mouth pursed into a grim line.

With a shrug, she opened her mouth.

"Itadakimasu."

* * *

After Naruto forced the kishin soul down her throat (after gagging it back up several times), the weapon and meister duo made their way to the closest boutique so that they could use the window to call Lord Death.

Sakura did not want to do the work of getting her elbow length glove off, so since Naruto was wearing fingerless gloves, she breathed across the glass, writing out the number 42-42-564. The Death God had given them his special number so when they needed to contact him they could. He did the same with all meister weapon duos that were active students.

"Shini-shini-goroshi." Naruto recited, stepping back with wide blue eyes as the window went white and literally began ringing as if she was on the phone.

"Why did you say that?" Sakura asked, rubbing a tired hand down her pale face.

"Hm?" The blonde hummed.

"You know, the Japanese. I thought it was "42-42-564, whenever you want to knock on Death's door"."

"Oh it is." Naruto said, shrugging. "But if you're saying the number in Japanese, it's literally said shini-shini-goroshi."

"That doesn't sound like Japanese numbers…" Sakura trailed off.

Naruto gave a wicked grin.

"It means "death death murder"."

Sakura managed to get paler before they were both interrupted by a cheerful voice.

"Heyo! Hello hello! What can I do for ya?"

"Lord Death!" Sakura exclaimed, turning around and standing at attention after smoothing her askew hair back and straightening her dress. "S-Sakura Hannelore and Naruto Uzumaki reporting in after a mission accomplished."

"Oh is that so?" The odd being questioned happily. "You got all nine of Tora's souls?"

Naruto's face instantly drained of color. Her eyes squinted, and her mouth was pinched.

"Eh?" The blonde uttered.

"Mhm, mhm~ the reason Tora hasn't been killed until now is because she was exceptionally good at evading students, even though she wasn't a battle oriented kishin egg. On top of that, the fact that she has nine souls, being a cat, no one really wanted to go after her because she was such a hassle. But I'm really glad you two took care of it. You managed to obtain nine souls on your first mission as partners. Just ninety more souls to go! Good job~"

"Um, excuse me Lord Death, but we have to go now." Sakura said sweetly, even though the vein from earlier was throbbing with enough force that Naruto would have bet it would burst had she not been staring blankly at the window in front of her.

"Eh?" The blonde said again.

"Oh you're right, you two are probably really tired after going after Tora," Lord Death placed a large boxy hand before his cartoon-like skull mask, as if embarrassed. "Get some rest okay? You've got class bright and early today."

"Of course." Sakura smiled, eyes arching closed.

"Goodnight kiddies!" The Death God chirped, waving goodbye before the window went black, and all that was left was their reflection and the view into the boutique.

Naruto twitched.

"Eh?"

Sakura's face burned a furious red, hands flying up on either side of her hair and nearly ripping it out.

"GOTT VERDAMMT!"

* * *

Tora met her last end at approximately 7:34 am. on Monday, only having enough time to screech out a despaired yowl before she was crushed by the business end of Naruto's kanabō form.

Naruto returned to human form, grumpily snatching the soul from the air before shoving it into her mouth and chewing it furiously, swallowing the bulge without so much as a blink.

Sakura, annoyed beyond words at that point, watched her partner do this.

"How does it even taste?" She asked, pushing a sweaty lock of hair behind her ear.

"Doesn't really taste like anything." Naruto muttered. "It's weird, like sucking smoke into your mouth."

"Ew." Sakura's nose scrunched up.

"You're not the one that has to eat it." Naruto grumbled, shoving her hands into her pockets.

Sakura pulled out her cell from the odd little pink pouch around her waist, (that she insisted wasn't a fanny pack).

Her brows caved into a scowl.

"It's seven thirty six. We have twenty four minutes to get to school."

Naruto looked up, taking in their surroundings.

"Luckily Tora ran her last run near the school. We can get there, shower in the gym, and put on our gym clothes." The blonde said.

"Are you crazy?" Sakura huffed. "Have you seen our gym uniform? The shorts might as well be underwear!"

"Ugh," Naruto pulled a hand from her pocket as she began shambling down the street, a yawn widening her mouth for a moment. "I've got two gym sweatsuits as backups in my locker."

"Why…?" Sakura drawled suspiciously, eyeing the short blonde at her side as they began walking a little faster.

"Hey, I've got hobbies, and you never know when you need a change of clothes." Naruto defended, smiling, though it wasn't as sunny as usual with her being so beat.

Both Naruto and Sakura were covered in scratches from Tora, and they would not be amused when they saw themselves later.

"You mean the fact that you're a complete delinquent and spray paint weird stuff throughout the school?"

"What?" Naruto asked innocently. "Would I do that?"

Sakura snorted.

"Idiot."

"That wasn't very nice or lady like Sakura-hime."

The meister snorted again, shoving Naruto's shoulder half heartedly as they turned a corner and the DWMA came into view.

"Shut up, stupid."

But the pinkette couldn't hold back her smirk.

Yeah, their first mission had sucked big time, but when they actually completed it, like Lord Death had said, they'd obtained nine souls.

They'd went through the disaster together and came out victorious, if a little bloody and smelly.

They were annoyed and in need of several naps, but at the same time they'd won.

Their first mission had been monumentally lame and annoying, but they would stay together as partners for all the good ones to come, and even when they met lame or difficult missions in the future once more, they'd still be partners, and they'd be getting stronger as partners.

"Hey, Hime." Naruto called.

"Hm?" Sakura hummed, oddly calm, eyes lazy as she enjoyed the rising sun brushing warmth across her face.

"Ninety more to go."

Sakura's eyes went wide and she turned to look at Naruto, who was grinning, eyes arched closed as her hands rested laced behind her head.

The pinkette shook her head.

"You idiot, that doesn't make me feel better." Sakura grouched.

Naruto just smiled brighter.

 _'I know it does.'_ The blonde thought. _'Because we'll be getting them together.'_

* * *

 **Hime(姫)= Princess**

 **Gott verdammt: God Damn it.**


	3. The Ugly Truth

**I don't own Naruto or Soul Eater.**

* * *

 _"The truth is rarely pure and never simple."_

 _-Oscar Wilde_

* * *

Climbing up the steps of Shibusen had taken whatever energy left in Naruto and her meister right out of them.

Less than halfway up Sakura collapsed in exhaustion, leaving Naruto to toss the pink haired girl over her shoulder, soldiering on and muttering curses in her native tongue every other exhausted breath.

The blonde weapon heaved a great breath, setting Sakura down so that she could drop into a crouch. The blue eyed girl peered through her shaggy bangs, watching Sakura flop onto her bottom with an irritated huff.

"It's hot." The pinkette complained.

"Well at least you didn't have to tote an entire girl wearing boots that weigh more than her up a stupid amount of stairs." Naruto grumbled.

"My boots are not that heavy." Sakura huffed.

"That's what you're complaining about?" The blonde deadpanned.

"Oh whatever Naruto."

The blonde rolled her eyes, deciding to just let it go and pushed herself up into a standing position, holding out a hand towards her meister.

"C'mon Hime, otherwise we're gonna be late." Naruto murmured. "No point in sitting out here baking in the sun."

"Okay," Sakura mumbled, reaching out and grasping the offered hand, letting the smaller girl haul her to her feet. "Let's go."

The partners made it into the hallways, striding past the front office and the mission bulletin, weaving through the students already loitering about, content to walk side by side in silence even as the chattering of their peers surrounded them.

"Hey you," Someone called from behind. "Yeah, kid with the face. Stop walking would you?"

Naruto jolted when a large hand landed on her orange clad shoulder.

Turning to face the person who had grabbed her, the blonde was surprised to find a vaguely familiar pale face. A tall man with blood red hair and pale blue eyes stared down at her, clad in a black suit and cross shaped tie.

 _'Oh!'_ She thought. _'I know this guy…'_

"Death Scythe? Whaddyou want?"

Sakura, who had halted a few seconds after her weapon winced at the blonde's rude greeting. Slightly miffed, the red haired man huffed.

"Didn't you hear me calling you? Why did I have to walk all the way over here to get you to stop?"

Naruto rose a brow, unimpressed.

"Kid with the face?" She repeated, unimpressed. "You could've been talking to literally anyone in this hall. But anyways, what's up?"

The Death Scythe sighed and pulled his hand from her shoulder, crossing his arms over his chest and regarding the short girl with a flat expression.

"Lord Death would like to speak with you. So head over to the Death Room would you?"

Naruto blinked, finally looking away from him and over to her meister.

Sakura shrugged, eyes large with equal parts curiosity and worry.

"He only asked for you by the way." The man stated, saying without really saying that Sakura was not to follow.

Naruto's brows furrowed as Sakura pursed her lips.

"Naruto what did you do?"

"What? Why do you just automatically assume I did something?" Naruto complained, forgetting about her confusion. "I was with you this whole time there's no way I could've done something."

"Hmph." Sakura harrumphed, placing her hands on her hips, obviously not believing her. "Well whatever, Hurry over to see Lord Death and come to class. If you're late I get in trouble too."

"Yeah yeah." Naruto grumbled, shoving her hands into her pockets. "Goody goody."

"What was that?" Sakura asked sweetly.

Naruto's blood chilled, laughing in a distinctly nervous fashion.

"N-nothing Sakura-chan." She assured her meister. "I'll be back in no time, promise."

Sakura nodded once, turning to continue the way down the hall that they had both traveled down as Naruto made her escape at the next turn.

Death Scythe stood in the middle of the hall for a moment, allowing himself a pout.

"Those little brats." He mumbled. "They completely forgot I was even here."

Deciding not to dwell on being ignored, the man turned and went on his way, deciding to wait at the school's entrance to greet his lovely little girl before she had class.

* * *

The entrance to the Death Room was located at the end of the long pale yellow passageways that Naruto traveled down, indicated by a large door marked with a skull and the plate, 'Death Room'. The blonde reached out, using the knocker to announce her presence, stepping back with the door creaked open all on its weapon walked into the Death Room, looking back and finding that from the inside, the door seemed to be standing on its own with no wall behind it.

 _'Must be some sort of different dimension…'_ She thought.

Naruto had never actually been in the Death Room. The day before she'd been called by the Death Scythe Spirit Albarn (who's name she had forgotten until just then) with Sakura at lunch so that he could call his boss. After calling the shinigami, the death god briefed the girls on the mission he was assigning them.

 _'Wow. I'm actually gonna meet Death.'_ The blonde mused, walking through a tunnel of Torii gates styled to look like guillotines.

She gulped.

 _'I'm gonna meet the god of death and I'm all by myself…'_

That thought was what brought back her previously forgotten worry.

Why the heck had Death only called for her? Was she in trouble? Oh Kami she hoped she hadn't done anything wrong, she'd barely spent a month at the school and already something bad was happening?

 _'Please don't let me be in trouble…'_

Without realizing, Naruto reached the main part of the room. It was a dome-shaped space with a bright blue sky filled with curling white clouds. The clouds actually drifted about as if the ceiling was the actual sky, some of them even drifted along the sand colored ground, weaving between the black cross shaped graves as far as the eye could see.

The main part of the room was a large round platform with some stairs leading up to it. In the center of the platform, a large mirror with a brass frame and Shinigami mask on top stood,and before that grand mirror, stood the Shinigami himself.

He was a tall figure in black, his legs replaced by an odd appendage likened to a lightning bolt. Naruto could see they way the ends of his cloak swayed to a breeze that wasn't present.

"Oh Naruto-chan, there you are!" He exclaimed whilst turning to face her, giving her a clear view of his bone white, cartoonish skull mask.

Remembering the manners that her Jiji had all but beat into her skull, Naruto bowed in respect.

"You called?" She asked, lifting her head to stare into his eerily empty eye sockets.

"Ah yes, I did." Shinigami confirmed, bobbing a little closer. "How do you like Shibusen so far Naruto-chan? Have you settled in well? Do you like your classes? How are you getting along with your partner?"

Slightly thrown off by the series of questions, Naruto pulled one of her hands out of her pockets and rubbed at the back of her head.

"Ah yeah. School is school I guess. I feel like that doesn't really gotta be explained y'know?" She chuckled a little awkwardly. "I don't feel out of place or anything so I guess I'm settled pretty good. I love my new house. And Sakura-chan is great. She can be a little mean but it's still great to have her around 'ttebayo."

"Oh that's wonderful!" The Shinigami chirped, to her utter amusement.

There was absolutely nothing ominous about him. He was cheerful and goofy and kind. But then again Naruto supposed that's how he wanted to be, because even if he was all of those things, she knew he was still a being beyond her comprehension. The blonde tried to remember, even knowing what he was, why she had been nervous about being called into the Death Room.

Now that they were face to face, Naruto realized that she had no reason to be uneasy around him.

At least not unless she gave him one.

But she wouldn't. She would give no one any reason to distrust her. She wanted to be a good person, and she wanted people to think she was a good person as well.

"So, why did you call me in here Shinigami-jiji?" She asked, oblivious to her near blasphemous form of address.

Naruto knew she could be rude, but she didn't always know she was being rude, though curiously enough she could be polite in certain circumstances, if that made any sense.

"Well," Lord Death began, head tilting to the side slightly. "While I am glad to hear that you're content, I was curious about something. This something I'm wondering about is pertaining to your very specific situation."

Naruto found it odd to hear him speak in such proper terms in such a goofy tone of voice, but she didn't mention it. His diction only served to inform her that the sugary greetings were over and that he really had called her in for something important.

"What're you talking about?" She asked.

The creator of Shibusen straightened, and this in turn made her straighten, unconsciously pulling her hands from her pockets as she noticed something about his aura shifting.

"It's been two and a half weeks since you've become Ms. Hannelore's weapon partner Naruto. Don't you think it's about time you tell her?"

The blonde bristled, and though she was very nearly certain she knew what he was talking about still she asked.

"Tell her what?" Naruto muttered, brows furrowing.

"That you have a madness distortion in your wavelength."

Naruto's eyes went wide. Her heart stuttered in her chest and immediately she stiffened, taking a short step back. But really, why was she so surprised? She knew that she wouldn't be able to hide it from him. It was an utterly elementary fact, that shinigami sensed souls, as well as what resided within them.

 _'I'm an idiot.'_ Naruto thought. _'Such an idiot.'_

Why had she thought she'd have more time to ignore it? Well, that didn't matter, because Lord Death didn't give her any time to center herself after being so thoroughly shaken.

"I haven't said anything to you until now because I wanted to give you time to tell her on your own." He explained, remarkably conveying that he was chiding her. "But, it would seem I have to remind you that these sorts of things need to be shared between partners."

Naruto bit her lip guiltily, staring down at her white sandal clad feet.

"How can you ever expect to resonate successfully with her of you don't even trust her with such knowledge Naruto?" He murmured.

She could feel his unseen gaze boring into her as she refused to look up, and she stiffened even more, muscles pulled taut.

"How can you?" He went on. "You know you won't go any farther in your partnership with no trust."

"I _do_ trust her!" The blonde spat.

"Do you?" Lord Death asked quietly. "Would someone who trusts their partner keep such a big secret from them?"

Naruto grimaced, tearing her eyes away from her feet and training them on the Shinigami. The blonde clenched her fists at her sides, frustrated because she knew he was right.

She knew that she should've told Sakura from the beginning that she was infected with madness. She knew that she should've never began practicing resonating knowing that they would never be able to because she was always holding back. Because she was too afraid to bare her soul to Sakura. To allow her meister to feel the weight of her inner madness.

Naruto was aware of all of this, which was why she didn't allow herself the luxury of hiding her gaze, why she stared at Lord Death so that he could see that she was not proud of her lies.

 _'I want to be good.'_ Naruto thought. _'I want to be a good person, I want others to believe that I'm a good person too. But how can I be good, or better than what those people said if I don't try? If I don't really try not to be a liar, if I don't trust myself not to be afraid of my own madness…'_

Those people, the ones who abandoned her because of what she was... They would be right. Naruto really would be nothing but a monster if she didn't start changing. And to start changing, she first had to put faith into others.

If she believed that someone could see past her darkness, see the potential she had to be better, then she would transcend even that. She would strive to be her very best because others would actually believe that she could. And if others believed, so would Naruto. She would believe and she would put in honest effort.

 _'No more lying.'_ Naruto decided. _'I saw a little into Sakura-chan. I saw how scared she was of being rejected for how she is. I told her that I didn't care if she was different and that I wanted to know her, and be her friend. Shouldn't… shouldn't I trust Sakura to be the same? Shouldn't I believe that she would really want to know me even if I'm different?'_

Honestly, they hadn't been partners for very long, but Naruto knew enough about Sakura to know that she could actually be very thoughtful. She also knew that even if she could be a little gruff, Sakura actually did long for a true friend, that Sakura really did want Naruto to be her friend.

But would she want to be Naruto's friend after she knew?

The thought chilled her. But still… Even so...

 _'I… I'm gonna try.'_

Naruto bit her lip, the eyes that she hadn't realized that she had closed opening, finding herself once again facing the Death Lord.

"Ne," Naruto called softly, shoulders sagging slightly. "Shinigami-jiji… What you're saying… I hear you."

The dark being tilted his head slightly in question.

"I hear you." Naruto said again. "So, don't worry anymore. I… I'll do better."

"I see." Shinigami replied, before he did a complete one eighty and perked up. "Good luck then young lady! Run along to class, you are very nearly late!"

Naruto's lips tilted up slightly, but her mood did not improve very much. She still felt dread welling up inside of her, mixing with the guilt and and hope in a sickening cocktail.

"Hai hai." She mumbled. "Thanks for the talk then, Shinigami-jiji. Ja ne."

She turned and went on her way, ignoring the gaze that followed her the whole way out.

* * *

It was a few hours later, lunchtime for the Shibusen students, and had anybody taken the time to peek through the crack of the door leading to the roof of the Academy, they'd see two girls standing in silence, studying one another.

One was relatively short, blonde, her brows furrowed in worry as she watched the other. A girl with pink hair and pursed lips. The taller girl's green eyes were slightly narrowed, shining with betrayal.

The truth had been spoken, blurted from nervous lips after a full twenty minutes of tense silence shared between the two instead of eating their lunches.

The truth was spoken, and it didn't seem to be taken very well.

The blonde's lips trembled when Sakura finally truly reacted, moving to _turn her back_.

"No, wait Sakura… I was going to tell you sooner!" Naruto choked, moving swiftly, grabbing her partner by the wrist. "I… I know that doesn't make this better, but I really am sorry. I just… I was _scared._ I'm sorry."

Sakura just glared, making the shorter girl flinch and release her. Sakura just shook her head, not once uttering a word. And Naruto thought that it hurt even more that Sakura didn't even bother to yell, that she didn't spit venomous words. That she just looked at her with this profound mess of betrayal, anger, and disappointment.

Sakura's eyes struck Naruto right in the soul, and then the meister turned around and left.

Naruto's expression crumbled. She felt a thick knot in her throat, but she didn't let anything become of it.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

Silence answered her sorrow.

* * *

Sakura was angry.

Of _course_ she was angry. But she was also hurt. She knew that she should think about things from Naruto's point of view, and take into account why her partner had done what she had, but at the moment the truth was too fresh.

Naruto had lied to her. Pretending like she didn't know why they hadn't gotten any farther in their resonating practice.

Naruto didn't _trust_ her.

Naruto…

Sakura slowed her angry stride, lost among one of Shibusen's many empty, identical yellow halls.

Naruto had looked _so_ sorry. She looked so guilty, and like she disgusted herself for what she'd done.

Sakura stopped completely, dropping to the floor right then, sitting on the floor and placing her head in her hands.

And Sakura… Sakura had just _glared_ at her. She hadn't said anything! She just… just walked away from the first real friend she'd ever had. They hadn't even been together very long, and already Sakura was pushing her away for not being perfect. For being a _person_ and making a _mistake._

"I…" Sakura rasped, tears streaming from her eyes. "I'm an idiot."


End file.
